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Introduced birds in urban remnant vegetation : does remnant size really matter?

journal contribution
posted on 2006-01-01, 00:00 authored by Mark Antos, James FitzsimonsJames Fitzsimons, Grant Palmer, John WhiteJohn White
Introduced birds are a pervasive and dominant element of urban ecosystems. We examined the richness and relative abundance of introduced bird species in small (1–5 ha) medium (6–15 ha) and large (>15 ha) remnants of native vegetation within an urban matrix. Transects were surveyed during breeding and non-breeding seasons. There was a significant relationship between introduced species richness and remnant size with larger remnants supporting more introduced species. There was no significant difference in relative abundance of introduced species in remnants of different sizes. Introduced species, as a proportion of the relative abundance of the total avifauna (native and introduced species), did not vary significantly between remnants of differing sizes. There were significant differences in the composition of introduced bird species between the different remnant sizes, with large remnants supporting significantly different assemblages than medium and small remnants. Other variables also have substantial effects on the abundance of introduced bird species. The lack of significant differences in abundance between remnant sizes suggests they were all equally susceptible to invasion. No patches in the urban matrix are likely to be unaffected by introduced species. The effective long-term control of introduced bird species is difficult and resources may be better spent managing habitat in a way which renders it less suitable for introduced species (e.g. reducing areas of disturbed ground and weed dominated areas).

History

Journal

Austral ecology

Volume

31

Issue

2

Pagination

254 - 261

Publisher

Wiley Interscience

Location

New York, N.Y.

ISSN

1442-9985

eISSN

1442-9993

Language

eng

Notes

The definitive version is available at Wiley Online Library www.wileyonlinelibrary.com.

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal; C Journal article

Copyright notice

2006, Ecological Society of Australia

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